Pension

The State of Ohio

Delaware County. On this Twelfth day of June A.D 1835, personally appeared before the Court of Common pleas for the said County of Delaware John Allen a resident of Delaware in the said County of Delaware aged 75 years, who being first duly sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the provisions made by the act of Congress passed June 7, 1839. That he enlisted in the army of the United States and the following are the particulars of his service to write.

I John Allen was born in Franklin County Penna some time about the year 1760, and am now some where between 70 and 75 years of age. I have no record of my age.[1] My father had a record of it in his family Bible, which was burned, with his house, when I was young. Since that time there has been no record of my age. In consequence of old age, I can not recollect dates.

In the fall of some year during the revolutionary war (I think it was the year 1776), I enlisted as a private soldier, in Chambersburg in Penna in the United States’ service, in the Penna line, in the Continental troops, for five years.[2] I do not recollect the name of the enlisting, or recruiting officer, as he was a stranger to me.

I served under Capt. Brown in a Regiment commanded by Col. Campbell. I think it was called the 7th Regt.[3] I can not recollect all the places I was marched to during the war, but I believe I was but a little out of the State of Penna. I was in the battle of Brandywyne and was wounded there in the hand and lost one joint off the middle finger of the left hand.[4] I was discharged at the close of the Revolution after I had served four and a half years.[5] I was discharged at some place at the East part of Penna near the Delaware river. I can not recollect the name of the place. I had a written discharge which has been long since burnt by accident. I can not recollect the name of the officer who gave to me my discharge.

After I was discharged I lived in Franklin County Penna until about fourteen years since, when I was removed to this county, where I have lived ever since.[6]

I am inform and my memory is very poor and therefore, I can not state dates, names and places more particularly. I however positively state that I served at least four years during the Revolutionary war, between the year 1776 and 82 as a private soldier, in the manner above stated, part of which time was spent in army civil employment and for which I now claim a pension. I have not written or documentary evidence and know of no person by whom I can prove my services. I hereby relinquish every claim whatever to a pension or an annuity except the present. I declare that my name is not on the pension roll of any agency in any state.

Endnotes

[1] John M Allen was born in 1760 and died in 1849 at 89 years of age. He married Elizabeth Rodgers in 1821, and they had one son, Frederick, together. Elizabeth died in 1840.

[2] John Allen lived in Chambersburg, PA before the war and enlisted at 16 years of age.

[3]He says he was under the command of Capt. Brown and Col. Campbell. The 7th Regiment was under the command of Col. William Irvine. Col. Irvine was captured on June 16, 1776 and held prisoner in Canada until the exchange on May 6, 1778.

[4] He fought in the Battle of Brandywine. He was wounded and lost his knuckle on his middle finger.

[5] John Allen was not a wealthy man by any standard because he was only 16 when he entered the war and once he got out, at 20 years old, John did not have a profession or an economical status.

[6]He was a freeman for quite some time and traveled to various locations, including Greenwood in 1778 and Gulliord Township in 1779, in order to find work. He did not own land but had some property, two horses. After meeting his later wife, they settled down in Delaware County, Ohio.

Pennsylvania Archives, Series 3, Volume XXII, Transcript of Property with Number of Inhabitants in the County of Westmoreland, 1783.